After guarding against these mistakes, what is the duty which remains? Only this, that without forwardnefs or affectation, without vehemence or bitterness, every chriftian avow himself, in every becoming way, to be what he is; by constantly attending the public worship of God, renewing his baptifmal vow in the folemn ordinance of confirmation, ftatedly coming to the holy table; and fhewing, by the reverence of his deportment, that he doth all this as matter of confcience, not of form; by practifing with fimplicity and opennefs every other precept of his religion; and leaving no room to doubt, from what principle he acts by abftaining from all appearance of evil in his own behaviour and difcourfe, and approving it in that of others by defpifing the contempt or hatred, which may fall upon him for such a conduct; efteeming as an honour the reproach of Chrift; and chufing rather to fuffer affliction, if he muft, with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of fin for a feafont. : Thefe are the things, comprehended in the confeffion, that fcripture enjoins. And is any one of them unfit to be done by us, or unworthy to be required of us, or too heavy a barthen to be laid upon us? And if none be, what have we to object? We cannot be neuters between religion and irreligion: neither God nor man will understand us to be fuch. Our Lord himfelf hath made the declaration, that it is no lefs juft, than peremptory, be that is not with me, is against me t. Which then are we? enemies or friends? Do we pronounce, by declining to appear for it, that the gofpel of Chrift is of no value; or, by not being afhamed of it, that it is the power of God unto fal vation §. But indeed, were it allowable to be of neither part openly, is it advisable? By declaring ourselves for the truth, we ftrengthen ourselves in it: we take up a character, which it will be our glory and our happiness that we are bound to maintain. And in all likelihood we fhall thus get rid of folicitations from infidels and libertines; who will never quit us, while they find us wavering or fearful to be touched, upon the fubject; but will furely, either from decency or defpair, be filent, when we have notified in a prudent manner our fixed refolution. To this • 1 Theff. v. 22. Heb. xi. 25, 26. Matth. xii. 39. this we might also, if need were, add a most equitable request; that as they set up for the great and only friends of liberty, they would tolerate us in an error, (if it can be one) which tends to make every individual virtuous, and every fociety flourishing; which comforts us under all afflictions here, and delights us with the hope of endless felicity hereafter: and that they would not think the belief of an ungoverned world, of unrewarded virtue and unpunished villany; of God's having left his creatures without inftruction in their duty, without certainty of his pardon and grace, without affurance of their future existence and reward, fo extremely meritorious a doctrine; as to entitle the maintainers of it to perfecute the rest of mankind with fcorn and ridicule, (the only weapons they have) till all are brought to an unity of profeffion in this bleffed creed. Concealing our faith may indeed fecure us from being attacked upon it; but not from the dangers of licentious difcourse, not from being tempted in various ways by others, not from growing indifferent and betraying ourselves into fin. Befides whilft we keep our principles unknown, through a mean-fpirited fear of bad men, we mifs the esteem and friendfhip of the good: which may be of unfpeakable use to us; perhaps in the most important refpect, enabling us to hold faft our integrity *. But we are to measure the value of owing our regard to religion, not only by the benefit, which we may receive from it, but the fervice, which we may do by it. One branch of it is, frequenting public worship. Now it is very true, that many, who ftay at home, can use the same prayers, and read as good fermons in private, as they hear in the congregation. But, (befides that probably they will not if they can; and that certainly numbers, whom their practice may influence, cannot if they would;) were every fingle good chriftian to spend the whole time, which they employ in religious exercises here together, juft in the fame manner feparately; ftill the mutual animating of each other, the inftructive example, the awakening call to a thoughtless world, these things would be loft; the chriftian church, the pillar and ground of the truth, would fall to ruin by quick degrees; the christian fyftem of religion and virtue would die and be forgotten with VOL. II. Iii the the prefent believers in it, or even before them; excepting fo much of it, as might perhaps be imperfectly preferved by methods leis effectual. It is not therefore without caufe, that fo great a ftrefs is laid on attending God's holy ordinances: which whoever frequents reverently, teaches others to frequent them in the fame manner; but whoever fhews a contempt of them, encourages others to do fo too. And the like is the cafe through the whole extent of piety and morals. Where our influence is the weakest, yet every one who appears in earnest on the fide of God and Christ and virtue, must add fome ftrength to the caufe, and fome fpirit to the fupporters of it. It is a common warfare, in which we are engaged. If any one be allowed to defert his ftation, every one must have the fame allowances: and then, humanly fpeaking, what hinders, but all must be given up? The patrons of infidelity and libertinifm, who, as one fhould think, have many reafons to be referved, they declare themfelves without the leaft fcruple. Only confider therefore, if we are to be shame-faced and filent, while they are bold and boastful; how monftrous is the impropriety, and how unhappy will be the event! But befides the general confequences of bolding faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering *, or shrinking from it; let us reflect also, what particular effects it may have on our friends, our dependants, our fervants, our families; on thofe who are united to us in the nearest relations, and whose happiness conftitutes a great part of our own. All who barely know us and think well of us, will of courfe be in fome degree, either the fteadier in the faith and practice of chriftianity for our public adherence to it, or more unfettled for our feeming to flight it: and this one difference in our behaviour may very poffibly have weight enough with more than one amongst them, to determine his conduct, and state for ever. But fuch as are intimate with us, will be more powerfully fwayed by what they fee in us. And they who live under our roof, who naturally learn almost every thing from us, who pride themselves per haps in being like us, there is no hope that they will be reli gious, if they have any ground to imagine, that we are not cordially fo. But taking due care to fhew them that we are, will do much towards promoting their future happiness at the fame Heb. x. 23. fame time with their own; and indeed the present welfare too of both. For as religion furnishes the strongest motives to every part of virtue and prudence; fo, unlefs our example inftruct thofe around us to perform their duty towards God, they will probably foon come to neglect it towards us, as well as towards others and themselves: whereas giving proof that we honour him, is the way to be honoured in thought, word and deed, by them; by all the good, and even by most of the bad. Or how unequally foever efteem may be diftributed now, all will be abundantly rectified in that decifive hour, when they, that fleep in the duft of the earth, shall awake; fome to everlasting life, and fome to shame and everlasting contempt: when they, that be wife, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament'; and they, that turn many to righteousness, as the ftars, for ever and ever Dan. xii. 2, 3. Iii2 SECT. SERMON LXXIX. PRYING INTO THE SECRET THINGS OF GOD REPROVED. LUKE xiii. 23, 24. Then faid one unto him, Lord, are there few that be faved? And be faid unto them, frive to enter in at the ftrait gate: for many, I fay unto you, will feek to enter in, and shall not be able. THERE is fcarce any thing which proves both wifdom and rightness of mind more fully, than proper behaviour on fudden occafions, and proper answers to unforeseen queftions for what a man fhews himself to be at such times, we have in general great caufe to believe he really is. Now to this trial, our Saviour living a public life, in the midst of perfons taking all advantages to infnare him, was perpetually expofed; and his character never fuffered by it. His temper continued always compofed and beneficent: his replies, when circumftances allowed it, were open and plain: at other times mixed with prudent referve; but always tending to convert the most unfit enquiries into opportunities of communicating feasonable inftruction. One inftance of this, amongst many, the text affords where we find, that as he went through the cities and villages teaching, fome forward inquifitive man was earnest to be told, if there should be few or many faved. To this enquirer perfonally he anfwered nothing but reproving his fuperfluous inquifitiveness by a filence, that expreffed at once dignity and mildness, addreffed himself to all, that were prefent; acquainting them what was the whole, that they needed to know and remember, in relation to that subject: in difcourfing on which, I fhall confider : I. The question propofed. |